The OC's
by No one and Nobody
Summary: Each chapter is a oneshot about a story of each of the characters as they bump into a person they have encountered in the past. About promises made, and how love can blossom out of it. EveryoneOC, except for- well, we'll see!
1. Hikaru

**No one and Nobody here! In case you were wondering, I edited this chapter- or more like, I did a little tweaking here or there so that it would correspond with the new-and-improved oneshot version of this, Tic Tac Toe. The story remains unchanged. Enjoy!**

**The OC's**

**Chapter 1: Hikaru**

**Hikaru drags his feet across the school, down-in-the-dumps and all on his lonesome, when he trips and stumbles upon a shelved-up memory that helps him get back on his feet.  
**

* * *

A boy wandered quietly down the empty school corridors.

Or rather, an attractive high school redhead with an attitude- and half of an infamously troublesome duo- strutted down the school's luxurious corridor-ish halls.

Hitachiin Hikaru wandered quietly down the empty school corridors without his fans or his friends or, unexpectedly, his brother.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you're devastated.

He liked the school after class hours, he decided. He was all alone, and he let himself enjoy the peace and quiet for a change. It gave him time to hear his own thoughts. It wasn't long before he had shuffled his feet into a long-since-forgotten hallway.

Unconsciously, or perhaps on a whim, he made his way into an empty classroom and sat himself on a desk.

His eyes wandered around the room. He used to have his lessons in here.

In fact, didn't he have his first real crush here?

"There." he muttered. He stared at the seat on his left. It had been absolute torture for him to sit next to her- but somehow, at the same time, it had been a treat. He could barely remember her now; all he could remember was that she had been his favorite tic-tac-toe opponent.

Ugh. What was her name again?

He bowed down his head to examine his desk and to think.

This was the desk he had doodled on, he thought. "It's still here." he said, half laughing.

He had even bravely engraved a little H+P somewhere in the corner, and now he smiled as he traced it fondly with his fingers.

"Can I sit here?"

Hikaru's head shot up. Wasn't he alone just now?

He looked at the girl who had so rudely disturbed his little reverie.

She had nice hair tied neatly and cutely in a sort of bun, and sitting promptly on her nose were a pair of glasses. She looked like she might be in his year.

He nodded distractedly.

"Thanks." she said, as she took her seat beside him.

_Don't sit on what's- her-face's seat!_ He screamed at her in his head.

Obviously she couldn't hear him.

They sat quietly together for what seemed like hours.

"Hey."

Hikaru looked up again. "Yeah?" he asked her.

"Do you want to play?" she asked him, fiddling with something in her jacket.

"H-huh?" he asked her, a little embarrassed and _plenty_ confused.

She pulled out a pen and held it in her right hand, and then she put out her left hand as if to ask for something. "Could you give me your hand?"

"W-what?" he asked her again, his current emotions stretching themselves.

"Sorry, but I don't have any paper."

He decided to trust her and put out his own hand. She began to draw something on it.

Hikaru looked down at his hand, and was surprised to see that it was now perfectly ready for a game of tic-tac-toe.

"There" she announced. "I'll go first." she drew a little "P" somewhere.

"P?" he asked her, and she nodded. "My nickname starts with a P." He followed suit and scribbled down a sloppy "H".

"H, huh?" she snickered. "Hikaru."

He looked up at the sound of his name. So she did know him. "Is that why--"

She shook her head. "I always play it this way." she replied distractedly.

"Where's your brother?" she asked as she wrote down another "P" on his hand.

"Meeting."

"Is he hanging out with the rest of the gang?" she asked casually, watching him scribble another "H"

Hikaru nodded.

"Why aren't you with them?" she asked while continuing the game.

"I can't." Awfully nosy, isn't she? "Face her, that is." he didn't know why he bothered throwing that in. Maybe it had something to do with her... bravery. Not many girls talked to him without stammering. Or fainting.

"Really? Her who?" she asked again, as she drew another tic-tac-toe table on the same hand (She being the winner, of course).

Hikaru sighed. Of course she didn't know, and it wasn't like she should anyway. He let dead air pass between them for a while to avoid answering the question.

"Fujoka-chan?" She didn't even bother to spare him a glance.

Hikaru on the other hand, looked at her in surprise. She knew?

"I could just tell." she answered his thoughts. "So why can't you face her?"

He took a long time writing down another "H" before he answered her.

" I can't. Not after what I said."

"Which is?"

He had never answered this many questions in ages. "I told her that..."

"Hmm?" she asked. Was she ever going to give him a break? Fine.

"That I loved her." he muttered. His eyes fell on her face. She nodded understandingly. "Unrequited love is the pits."

There was something in her forward-ness that didn't hit him like a ton of bricks. He nodded back.

"But that's one of the best things about teenagers like us." she drew a line to mark her perfect game, and then she looked up at him for the first time. "We can get back up again after we fall, right?"

He realized they had stopped their little game, and that despite that, she had kept a hold on his hand- and his gaze. He also realized that he didn't let either go.

She was the first to drop both. She slid the pen back into her pocket and stood up. She glided over to the door.

"Nice talking to you, Hika-chan."

Hika-chan?

"Hey, what does 'P' stand for, anyway?" he asked the most important thing last.

"Hmm." she said, as if she actually had to think about it. "Guess." she concluded, and she smiled at him before she turned to leave.

He felt his heart skip a beat. _Guess?_ He thought. _How?_ He looked at his desk again to think for a few seconds, and a little doodle caught his eye and made him smile.

"Pii-chan." he called quietly, interrupting her exit and stopping her abruptly.

"Yeah?" she called back curiously.

"About getting back up?"

She nodded in response, and then he grinned. "I don't think I ever really fell."

She smiled warmly. "I'm glad."

"But I _do_ think-" Hikaru's gaze was soft as he waited for her to turn around again. "That I kept my promise."

She smiled at him. "Me too."

* * *

Once Hikaru was alone again, he re-traced the doodle on his desk that had interested him so much- a tic-tac-toe game that he had lost badly in. He traced it with a distinctive kind of happiness now- first the little P's, and then the messy H's.

Pii-chan was the first girl he had ever confessed to. He had made a promise to her, and she in turn, had promised him the same thing.

He promised he wouldn't stop loving her.

And so he never did.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Hikaru- _Fin._**

**A/N- well, there you go! Hope you _somehow_ managed to enjoy that little number. Now click on that tempting little review button and tell me what you think! ;)**


	2. Kyouya

**No one and Nobody signing in! Here is the newly-edited version. For those who have chances upon this before: The story remains unchanged, but hopefully the quality of writing is a little better. **

**Chapter 2: Kyouya  
**

**Summary: Before the Host Club took place, Hikaru and Kaoru had each other. Mori had Hunny, and even Tamaki had once had his mother. But who, exactly, did Kyouya have?  
**

* * *

Everyone stared.

And stared.

And _stared._

When Kyouya said he would be back, he never mentioned he would bring any_thing_ back with him.

The Host Club members suspiciously eyed the aforementioned _thing- _a _girl_... of sorts. At least they thought it was a girl that was hidden underneath all those swaddling clothes.

Atop her head she dawned an over-sized hat that she tried to use to tuck all her hair in (unfortunately, tendrils of the stuff were escaping from underneath the beaten-up winter cap), but it was so lose-fitting that it draped over her eyes. Around her neck, she wound a wool viper-like scarf that was so thick it masked up the rest of her face. On her feet were the biggest, tallest (they stretched up to about mid-thigh), most hideous and mud-adorned galoshes any of them had ever seen. Finally, she had chosen a hopelessly unflattering overcoat that engulfed her and left one to wonder how it felt like to drown in your own clothes. Needless to say, the intention seemed to be to conceal herself, but in her desperation she had accomplished the exact opposite.

At last, Kyouya seemed to decide it was time for introductions. "This is Yukari." he said. "The new student."

"Nice to meet you." a muffled voice called out from underneath the scarf.

The sound of her voice (Ah, so she _is_ a girl!)- seemed to set off the on button in Tamaki's system.

"Yukari." he repeated her name, seeming to savor the sound of it. "Won't you grace me with the sight of your face?"

She seemed alarmed by this, and shook her head immediately, furiously.

"I agree." Kyouya pitched in uncharacteristically (for what soul has ever heard him agree with Tamaki?). "It would be advisable to remove all that is unecessary. You will have to learn to trust these people." he said.

Yukari drew back, retreated. "I guess it's okay." she answered. Slowly, hesitantly, and with slightly trembling fingers, she took off her scarf and pulled off her cap and shrugged off her coat.

Immediately the girl's long, fiery-red hair slid out from its hold and cascaded down her shoulders, falling until it reached her small waist. Without the unflattering overcoat, her nice, curvy figure was noticable. Without the viper-like scarf, her soft, pinkish lips came into view. Without the hat draping over half of her face, you were drawn to her deep, darkened-amethyst eyes.

Everyone stared.

And stared.

And _stared._

She was gorgeous.

After a few moments, the absurd reality managed to sink in.

"Typical." the twins sighed, shrugging boredly.

"What now?" Yukari asked Tamaki, who seemed to be staring at her with a puzzled expression.

"You look familiar, my dear."

* * *

Yukari stayed around three feet behind Kyouya. Other girls might have taken three feet forward at the sight of Tamaki, but to Yukari the new student from France was just plain intimidating. She stared at him without really hearing what he was saying, until suddenly his words became loud and clear- "Your heart must be as lovely and as fiery as your hair..." and it was then that she had noticed that he had leaned in towards her. Instantly, she drew back. Forget intimidating, how dare he say that to her!

She raised her foot and yanked off her shoe, and...

_Whack!_

She put her shoe back on, crossed her arms tightly, and then smiled in a painstakingly sarcastic, sticky-sweet way.

Tamaki looked over at her. What just happened? Then his eyes fell on the guy standing next to her. Was he grinning?

-

Kyouya tried to stop himself from showing any signs of amusement, but it was quite a challenge. This was one of the reasons he was friends with Yukari- she amused him, and he was someone she was challenged to amuse.

Tamaki was still confused, and then he saw that the girl had stepped back again and was subconciously clutching onto the other boy's arm.

_Ah, so that's how it is_, Tamaki thought, smiling broadly. A happy couple.

But of course he was wrong.

* * *

The rest of the host club followed Kyouya and his peculiar friend when they left the school, sneaking around behind them and trying not to be seen or heard and get caught.

"I want some ice cream." the girl announced suddenly.

Was she crazy? It was freezing outdoors... and she wanted ice cream?

Kyouya showed no signs of protest, and instead asked, "Where?"

She seemed to consider this. "The smallest ice cream shop you know." she decided.

He quirked an eyebrow but decided not to say anything. Instead, he took a turn somewhere and she followed.

* * *

"Why are they walking?" Tamaki asked the twins. "Why don't they take-"

"Shut up, my lord." the twins blurted out.

Only Haruhi snorted at the irony.

Nevertheless, they kept on with their mission.

* * *

Once they arrived at the ice cream shop, Yukari headed straight for a table that was somewhere at the back of the store.

"Don't you just love it here?" she asked him.

Kyouya chose not to answer.

"So how've you been?" she asked, and then swallowed a spoonful of strawberry ice cream.

"Fine." Kyouya answered, watching her.

"How's your love life?" she asked jokingly, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

Slightly, ever-so-slightly, he frowned.

"No way!" she said, gasping. "You don't have a girlfriend yet?"

Kyouya did not reply.

"I don't believe you!" she said, shaking her head, looking a tad bit disgusted. "You've been turning down all the girls, haven't you?"

"Maybe..." he said, and the smirk was crawling back onto his face.

"Bastard." she said.

* * *

Everyone couldn't believe it. What kind of super powers did this girl posess? How was she able to talk to him like that, neither of them as batting an eyelash?

"Well, she isn't his girlfriend." Kaoru ticked that one off.

"Maybe she's his long-lost sister!" Hunny exclaimed, pitching in cheerfully.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes at her from afar. "No, she doesn't look anything like him."

Tamaki, for once, seemed to be in a contemplative mood. No one seemed to notice, but the pieces of the puzzle were coming together in his head- _slowly. _

Haruhi only counted the coins in her pocket. "Darn, not enough change. Maybe I can ask for free samples."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Kyouya asked smoothly.

"Around." the girl said, shrugging. "The world." she finished.

Somewhre in the corner, Haruhi grimaced.

"I see. Business deals all taken care of?"

"Yeah. So I'm not moving around anymore, and you're stuck with me." she said, shrugging again. "Why don't you eat anything?"

"No thank you."

She did a sort of frown-and-nod combination-deluxe, and then began twirling her fork around. A positively evil grin inched its way across her face as she stabbed a strawberry with her fork, and then easily forced it into his mouth.

Kyouya wiped his mouth swiftly with his hand, and then smirked. "You're going to pay."

"Oh, I'm _so_ scared." the girl cried sarcastically. "What're you gonna do?"

"You misunderstand me." Kyouya replied. "I meant, _you're going to pay._" he pushed the bill to her side of the table.

She frowned at him. "Okay, but dinner is on _you_."

He smirked and shook his head fondly, letting an uncharacteristic sigh escape. "Alright."

-

A collective "Unbelievable!" exclaimed from the rest.

* * *

The host club soon found out more and more about Yukari as time passed. She used to go to their school, until she had to travel around the world to help her family with their business. It turned out that she was originally a scholar, like Haruhi was, but during those years of traveling her family had accumulated quite a fortune. Yukari's family was big in number, yes, but it was full of hard-working people, which proved to be quite an advantage. They also found out that Yukari and Kyouya met each other when they were very young, and they have been best friends ever since, keeping in touch all these years that they haven't seen each other.

So it was only natural for Kyouya to spend a lot of time with her, letting her sit beside him during class, letting her have lunch with him, letting her stay during the club hours without any sort of payment, and even spending time with her after school at first, but when that only started happening, the Host Club (the twins and Tamaki especially) convinced him to spend more time with them, or business would be bad.

* * *

Yukari began to pace up and down the sidewalk. "Come to think of it." she muttered to herself, "I haven't seen much of Kyouya in months." She frowned and stared off into the distance. He's been so busy with that club. "And after school, that Suo guy would go to his house, so how am I supposed to come over?" she asked no one in particular.

She kicked a stone that was in her way. "But I guess I have to try." she said, and she clenched her hands into fists. "Fine then." she decided, and headed back into her house.

* * *

Kyouya glared and wrote something down. He was too tired to pretend to be warm and accommodating. Tamaki was the kind of person that wore you out completely.

"How's it going, boys?"

How pathetic. He was hearing things. Kyouya glared even harder, his head throbbing even more. He hadn't seen Yukari in a long time, and he was really starting to miss having her around. Just then, he heard Tamaki say, "Great!", and then he felt that warm presence he always felt when...

"Yukari… what are you-" his eyes fell on her as she took a seat without being asked to. She wasn't wearing her uniform anymore. Kyouya shook his head. He wasn't used to her coming over anymore...

Normally, when Yukari was around, and when Kyouya had a rough day, and his head was beginning to hurt, he waited patiently for Yukari to come over to him, and the pain would go away. She was so unusual, she was entertaining.

But today was different. Today, when she came, his head began to hurt even more. All afternoon he had to endure her pleasant smile, her wise cracks, her warm atmosphere, and, worst of all, Tamaki trying out his antics on her.

"You know, today, I had to endure a headache." Tamaki began.

"Really?" her eyes began to fill with fake concern and crocodile tears.

"It went away, though." cue the sap. "When I saw you smile at me.", he finished, waiting for her reply.

She answered, "I'm so glad."

Yukari smiled warmly.

Tamaki grinned suavely.

Kyouya scowled visibly- visible enough for Yukari to see and ignore, but definitely not visible enough for Tamaki to notice.

"Tamaki." -he looked up at Kyouya- "It's getting a little late... should I have someone bring you home?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary-"

"I insist."Kyouya concluded firmly.

Within seconds, it was just Yukari and Kyouya left. "What do you want?" he asked her tiredly.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Right here. With you."

"Not these days."

"These days?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" she screamed impatiently. What was he playing at? "Are we still friends?"

Kyouya nodded, albeit distractedly...

"Then why do you keep hanging out with that- _that..._"

"I just found a new friend."

"So now what? Out with the old and in with the new?" she was yelling at him. She had never done that before- they had always gotten along so well, or maybe, that was just what she thought- or more importantly, what he wanted her to think.

"Yukari." he began, taking off his glasses quietly and wiping them with a cloth. "That's not how it is."

She could feel her eyes brimming with tears now. Kyouya had always been so clever- so good at hiding things, hiding how he felt...

He put his glasses down on the table and sighed heavily.

She had thought that everything in the world that had to do with him was one of his projects, something he could profit out of- except for her.

Was she wrong?

"Th-then h-how is it?" she dared herself to ask. And, finding it wasn't that hard to do, dared herself to look up at him and throw in a glare.

But as things were, she began to find herself backing up until she had nothing but wall behind her.

He grabbed hold of her shoulders, which made her wince for a bit, expecting it to be painful, but she was surprised. He was being gentle, like always... he was--

She had no time to think what he was. At that exact moment, he kissed her, as gently as she could have ever imagined.

When he pulled away, she looked at his face immediately, but finding that it was unreadable, tried to resort to words.

She managed a squeaky- "Kyou...ya?" and that was about it.

He didn't keep his eyes off her face, so, despite the trouble it caused her, she returned the favor.

So she tried to read his face again, but what was that she saw? Pain? She touched his face with her hands softly, hesitatingly. Yukari didn't know what to believe anymore. What was he doing to her?

There was a moment of dead air in which she thought he would brush her hand off his face briskly and turn away- it did seem more like him, after all. But she took the risk, and kept it there.

Suddenly, but gently, he put his hand on hers, and let it stay there for a while, and then, he lowered her hand down with his, but held it to his face first instead of pushing it away.

She looked for his expression again, desperately this time, his head was bowed down, and she couldn't see his face.

"Kyouya?" she called for him softly, signaling him to look up for her.

He followed her obediently, and she gazed into his eyes, which were sad and anxious for once.

For once, they were filled with tears.

Taken aback, she opened her mouth to apologize, but he grabbed her before she had the chance, and held her tight.

A hug... she was used to hugs... and so she held him just as tight.

Before he let her go, he pressed his lips against her hair his expression and whispered sadly, "I'm sorry."

As he walked away, she stared after him, trembling with fear; she put a hand to her face- she was crying too.

Too shaken with shock, she found herself unable to do anything else, but leave the house quietly.

* * *

At school the next day, neither of them approached one another. They were ignoring each other just like the past few days.

During class, she did not sit next to him again.

During lunch, she did not buy her food with him.

And by the time school was over, the whole level knew what was going on.

* * *

Yukari dragged her feet down the stairs. _What have I done?_ she thought. _I wanted things to go back to normal, but I only went there to make things worse._ She looked out the window to watch the snow fall and see her classmates hurry out the school doors.

But it wasn't them or the snow that caught her eye. She peered down at a boy with black hair and glasses, shuffling his feet in the snow, looking very sad all the same. She watched him walk out the door.

She inhaled deeply- _it's now or never._

* * *

Kyouya dragged his feet. He had, in his own way, told her everything. He looked up at the school for a while.

He still hadn't gotten an answer.

_Oh well_, he sighed. _There are other fish in the sea._

"You're not a fish, you're a shark." he grinned to himself.

"Excuse me?"

He looked up, and there she stood- arms planted on her hips and eyes piercing daggers at him.

"Yuka-"

"I have something to tell you." she interrupted. She looked up at him; she didn't care if he saw her crying. It was only fair.

He nodded. It was hard not to hide how he felt now. Everyone has their limits, it just so happened she was his.

"The thing is." she began, finding herself confident at first, and then felt her momentum downgrading when their eyes met.

"I... uhh… I-I uhh..." she said, tripping over her words. Frustrated, she accused him; "This is all your fault!"

He peered at her understandingly. Could he have asked for a better answer? He took her hand in his and smiled.

"I love you too."

* * *

**A/N- What do you think? Different character, different type of story? **

**I edited it a tiny bit again! Hope it's better to some degree! Tell me what you think! ;D  
**


	3. Hunny

**Summary: This story is about an important part of Hunny's past that nobody else except the ones involved know about. But luckily, you'll be able to learn about this part of Hunny's past and his first- and last love.**

**BTW, it gets pretty sad, but please give it a chance :)**

**Note: Yachiru refers to the character in Bleach.**

* * *

Yachiru yawned for the millionth time. Things sure were boring when Kenpachi wasn't around to bug and cling onto. 

She sat up straight with a bored expression on her face.

Yachiru kept the reputation of a skilled death god, and the vice captain and closest friend of Kenpachi- a respected and feared captain.

But of course, no one would suspect that of the short, cheery, pink-haired girl at first glance.

She was completely bored out of her mind now- she began playing with her feet, kicking them alternately.

"Whoops!" she exclaimed, as her sandal flew of her foot, and landed somewhere under her bed. She jumped off her chair and crawled over to it. Bending low, she stuck out her hand to get it, and felt around for it. "What's this?" she asked herself. Yachiru pulled out something a little thicker than paper from underneath her bed.

She stared at it. Why did she have this? It was a picture of her from when she lived in the real world as an ordinary person.

Yachiru couldn't take her eyes off the picture. There she was- in her old middle school uniform (she hadn't grown since then), smiling, as usual, and standing right beside a boy about her height who looked equally as happy.

"Mitsukuni." she muttered.

Yachiru felt her eyes burning, then slowly and quietly, the tears began to fall. She hugged the picture tightly and let herself cry.

* * *

"Yachiru-chan!"

Yachiru turned around to the familiar voice calling her name. "Mitsukuni!"

"What are you doing here?" the adorable blonde boy asked her.

"Hmm." she said, tapping her fingers on her chin, as if it weren't obvious. "I'm here to see you!" she said, and she smiled at him.

He made no reply, but he answered her with a smile that was just as brilliant. He put out his hand for her to take, and she accepted it without hesitation, and let him lead the way.

Mitsukuni Haninozuka was in his first year of high school, but he was barely any taller than Yachiru, who was only in her latest middle school year, and who was not exactly labeled "tall" either.

Class hours were over, and so they were free to go wherever they pleased- and, expectedly, they walked into a little shop nearby that sold cakes and many other delightful treats. Mitsukuni ordered quite a lot- and Yachiru followed suit for the fun of it. Both of them adored this place- hardly anyone went there, so the biggest table was usually vacant. They sat there again today.

They got the biggest table because it was the only one that all their food could fit in.

The two of them could sit there for hours and still have an interesting conversation. It didn't really matter where they ate, actually- as long as they were with each other, they were perfectly satisfied.

After three hours of chatting and chomping, they finally left ("We were a little fast today!" Yachiru commented).

Today, just like any other day, Mitsukuni walked Yachiru home. Today they walked in silence, but they didn't forget to hold hands.

"Mitsukuni?" Yachiru asked finally.

"Yes?"

"You're name's too long." She looked up at the sky to think. "Hunny."

"Are you still hungry, Yachiru-chan?" he asked her, thinking she wanted some honey.

She shook her head patiently. "From now on, I'll call you Hunny."

He smiled at her and nodded.

* * *

Yachiru looked up finally, and dried her tears- even though she knew they would keep coming.

They had been so happy. She sniffed. "I'm so sorry." she muttered, as she held onto the picture.

The next day, Yachiru did not skip off to the High School area again to look for her good friend. She did not want to face him.

Everyone she knew had probably heard by now- she was moving to somewhere far away, and she probably would not see him again.

She hated good-byes.

* * *

Mitsukuni had heard the news, alright. And he was avoiding her for exactly the same reason.

He walked out of the school gates sadly, and walked onto the road.

Cars were speeding by so fast today, he noticed.

His eye caught a glimpse of bright pink.

"Yachiru?" he muttered to himself. It was definitely her. Her pace had slowed down horribly, and she seemed oblivious to all her surroundings.

In fact, all the cars were just narrowly missing her.

Except that one.

"Yachiru-chan!!!" Hunny screamed at the top of his lungs, and she stopped at that deadly spot to look at him.

Hunny froze. His anxious eyes gazed into her sad ones, and that was the last he ever saw of her.

* * *

Yachiru looked down at the picture again, but this time, she smiled. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably but quietly.

"I should be happy, because..." she let the tears fall- sometimes they were good for the soul.

"... because I got to remember you." she stood up and placed the old picture under her pillow- the safest place she could think of.

She smiled as she ran out of the room and into the sunshine. Yachiru looked up at the sky to make a promise.

"I'll wait for you... Hunny-chan."

* * *

**How was it? Please tell me through those reviews I wanna read so badly ;) **


	4. Kaoru

**Disclaimer: I don't Ouran, but guess what? I own Midori, Yukari... sadly, I don't own Yachiru. Feh. **

* * *

Kaoru was walking all by himself in the snow, feeling quite nostalgic. His eyes fell on a moss-green bench, sitting deserted, just outside the school gates. The sight of it brought back memories... memories of a cold day, in the middle of winter- just like this one, back when he was in middle school...

* * *

Kaoru sat quietly by himself on his usual bench, fiddling with his new haircut.

Every now and then, somebody he knew would come up to him and ask him what he was doing without his brother. And every time, he would answer "I feel like being alone."

The truth was, starting a few months ago, after school, Hikaru would always go up to this friend he had... a friend he had seemed to hold close to his heart. They would go around, to simple places like the park or the mall. Everyday, Kaoru would have to sit on this very bench right outside the school and wait for a couple of hours for Hikaru, and then the two brothers would go home together.

But he didn't even mind, and he didn't know why.

"Kaoru!" a girl called. She walked up to him and took a seat beside him without hesitation. "How's it going?"

Oh, that was why.

On the very first day that Kaoru chose to wait on this bench, a girl in his year with ebony-colored hair and whose bright blue eyes, unlike her twin sister's, were not hidden behind a pair of glasses. The moment she so bravely took a seat beside him she started talking about how she had to wait for her sister to finish with her date, or whatever was going on with the Hitachiin boy. Then she looked to her left and said, "The other Hitachiin boy."

"Oh my goodness, your hair!" she exclaimed as he opened his mouth to answer.

He nodded, an amused look on his face, although he wasn't sure how she managed to amuse him up to now.

After a few minutes of settling down, she sighed, but it was neither a sigh of relief nor a sigh of exhaustion, because there was a smile on her face- just like there always was.

"I wonder how long they'll have to go on like this. A twin is really a handful, don't you think?" she said.

"No." Kaoru answered, shaking his head. "I'm the only one that ends up having to do the work, Midori."

Midori laughed. "Wish I could say the same." Embarrassed, she pointed to herself. "I'm afraid I'm the slacker in the family."

"Then maybe you and my brother should be siblings." he said in mock annoyance. "You've got a lot more in common than he and I do."

"Alright, let's switch twins." she said, no signs of seriousness in her voice. "You two are the nice ones, anyway."

Kaoru laughed and said, "You're right- you're nowhere near nice."

"Shut up or I'll take back what I said." she threatened.

Kaoru didn't mind waiting for his brother because it meant he had to wait with Midori. He liked her because she reminded him of Hikaru, but he liked her in a different way. A way he did not know how to explain.

"Listen... I've got something to tell you..."

Kaoru frowned. He didn't like the tone of her voice.

"I'm leaving... for- the world."

_For the world? _he raised an eyebrow slightly, and turned his head to look at her.

She was crying.

And then, he felt this unusual feeling... of pain, and worry and so many other things, including confusion... confusion in the fact that knowing that when this one person was unhappy... he would feel all these things.

"For the world?" he asked in a whisper, feeling horrible for having to make her talk.

She nodded, and then blinked back a few tears. "I'll have to help my f-father work a b-bit... going a-around the world for a while." she tried to smile, and wave her hand dismissively. "F-for s-several... years."

Kaoru thought it would have been impossible to feel any worse, but here he was.

He kept his gaze on her, unable to look away despite the situation. He wanted to reach out to her, to give her an assurance... but he didn't know how.

So, they just stayed that way. Midori, unable to stop her tears, not even bothering to wipe them away. And Kaoru, sitting next to her, frozen with fear and the shock of too many emotions at once.

"I'm Sorry." she managed to add, and tried to throw in a laugh as well.

Something snapped in Kaoru's system. Sorry? Sorry for being forced to work and go through this?

He stood up abruptly, and slowly, she did the same.

He turned to face her. "No, don't be." he said calmly. "I don't blame you. "

She shook her head. "But-"

"Don't blame yourself either."

And he kissed her then and there.

On the forehead.

She stared at him, her expression neutral, and then quite suddenly, she chose to lean on him.

She buried her face in him, and he wrapped his arms around her by instinct.

"Do me a favor." she commanded, her voice muffled. "Don't wait for me- forget about me... if you don't, it will... it will hurt too much."

"Alright." he answered stiffly.

Her head shot up angirly, and although she was crying, she looked at him with fire in her eyes. "_Promise me."_

"Wh-what?" Kaoru asked, slightly taken aback by her sudden determination.

"I won't forget about you... I swear I won't, you're the only real friend I've got." She wiped a few tears away briskly. She bit her lip so hard he was afraid it would bleed, and shut her eyes closed, as if she was regretting this with all her heart. "But promise me... you'll forget about me."

And he agreed without thinking, in his efforts to console her.

* * *

That night, he couldn't get any sleep. He tossed and turned in bed.

Tomorrow, she was leaving. She was leaving, and he couldn't help feeling... that something had been left undone.

* * *

"Why did you call me here?" Midori demanded, indicating the abandoned park, and then planted her hands on her hips.

Kaoru grinned for a split second. There was something about her that never allowed him to take her arrogance seriously. He really would miss that...

"I need to tell you something."

"Couldn't you have told me BEFORE sleeping hours?" she hissed, tugging on her pajamas angrily, and then pointing at his.

"I'm sorry. I only remembered now, and it's kind of urgent."

"Fine." she declared, her eyes narrowed.

"I've never done this before, and I'm really sorry, because I'm not any good at this."

Kaoru inhaled deeply. "I love you."

And he pulled her in for a kiss.

Midori stared at him with tear-filled eyes; mouth hung open, hands laced together nervously.

"And if you want to remember me... please remember me that way."

* * *

Kaoru leaned against the bench, smiling contently to himself, remembering a day a year or so ago, a day just like this one.

On that day, he had made a promise to a certain someone. He promised he would forget all about her.

But he never did.

* * *

**How was that? Please review? I'm really sorry if you don't like the whole twins x twins idea... if you don't, then just review based on the story minus the twins x twins thing... yeah. :)**


End file.
